Air Pollution in India Is So Bad, You Can't See the Taj Mahal

Delhi is the world's smoggiest city, and there are Instagram photos to prove it.

Good luck getting that perfect shot of some of India's most famous landmarks like Humayun's Tomb and the Red Fort in Delhi or the Taj Mahal in nearby Agra. Air quality has deteriorated so badly in recent days that visibility in some spots has dropped to only a few feet.

And that information isn't anecdotal. India's The Hindu newspaper reported that following the annual festival of light, Diwali, on October 30, "the Delhi Pollution Control Committee’s data showed that the concentration of PM2.5 (particles less than or 2.5 micrometers in diameter) peaked at a whopping 883 micrograms per cubic metre. The festival is traditionally celebrated with firecrackers, fireworks, and the lighting of millions of oil-based lamps leading to a dangerous brew when combined with road traffic emissions (auto-rickshaws here run on a toxic mix of kerosene and diesel), ever-present dust, coal-burning power stations, the open burning of waste, wood, and crop stalks, and cold, dry winter nights.

Schools have closed for three days and construction and demolition work has been suspended for the remainder of the week. Residents have organized protests, and locals and tourists alike have flooded social media sites with photos (follow #MyRightToBreathe on Twitter). Most strikingly, Instagrammers have been posting photos of India's iconic Taj Mahal (150 miles to the south of the city) hidden behind a veil of smog—the pictures range from ethereal to downright spooky. Considering visiting soon? We advise avoiding travel to Northern India between November and late January and to wait for clearer skies and warmer temperatures come springtime in February.